Since 1999, severe drought conditions in this region have forced many producers to
use some different forage strategies, such as planting alternative annual forage crops.
The acreages of hay barley and other cereals and warm-season crops such as millet,
sudangrass, sorghum x sudangrass hybrids and corn has risen in many counties. These
helped offset the forage deficit of dryland alfalfa and perennial grasses for the
past three years. Many of these annual crops have performed so well, it is likely
more Montana ranchers will opt to use them in conjunction with perennial hay crops
in the future. Aside from good tonnage and energy yields during a drought, the annual
forages provide an excellent crop rotation break when renovating perennial stands
of alfalfa or grass.

Current issues with standing annual forages and alfalfa hay:

Late crops of cereals, millet, sorghum x sudangrass, and other warm-season crops due
to cool, dry early summer followed by late rains (including grain crops, now to be
salvaged as feed): Across the state, MSU Extension Service county agents have done
several thousand nitrate tests for producers, and many of these crops grown under
stress contained toxic levels of nitrate. For the sorghum or sorghum x sudangrass
hybrids, there is the additional concern of prussic acid (HCN), and we are now dealing
with that problem. Particularly with the impending "killing freeze" - be cautious
with both nitrate and prussic acid.

Regrowth of cereal or warm-season forages - with August rains, these crops have produced
an abundance of high quality forage, but again be aware of potential nitrate and prussic
acid.

Poor hay curing weather for second or third-cut alfalfa fields. Our best recommendation
for stand longevity of alfalfa and many cool-season grasses is to avoid cutting during
the fall hardening period (30 - 45 days prior to "first frost" or early August UNTIL
a "killing frost" or mid-October). Unfortunately, October is a challenging time to
be making dry hay, especially in damp, cool years.

Swath or windrow grazing is a good forage option, and depending on upcoming weather,
may be an excellent strategy for 2002. Swath grazing provides an excellent source
of nutritious forage, and can result in a cost savings of over $30 per acre. At this
time of year, swathed forages provide an excellent maintenance diet for bred cows,
and with supplemental grain can provide a high-growth diet for bulls or replacement
heifers. The mechanics of swath grazing involve swathing and early raking to minimize
leaf loss, some inexpensive and timely movement of electric fencing, and a reliable
and possibly mobile livestock water source. Swath grazing is superior to direct grazing
in the fall because it eliminates leaf shatter and trampling losses, and the bloat
potential of alfalfa after frost is minimized. Specifically for fall 2002, grazing
windrowed forages may help salvage forage crops if wet, cold weather prevent good
haying.

For late (or regrowth) cereal, millet or sudangrass forages, monitor now for nitrate
levels (if high, the level will likely stay high at freezing and the crop may not
be useable). For sudangrass and sorghum-sudangrass, also be cautious of prussic acid
which can be high in young tissue such as regrowth leaves. There is no quick test
for prussic acid, and freezing (or fermenting during shipment to a lab) can change
the level. Our recommendation is to leave the crop standing until a hard freeze,
allow the crop to dry down, then send a representative sample to a lab for analysis
(allow one week). These crops have minimal loss in palatability and quality in the
fall, so a slight delay for the prussic acid test is a good safeguard. Swath grazing
should be timed on perennial crops (soon) to reduce future stand damage. For alfalfa
or grass-alfalfa mixtures, wait for the "killing frost" in your area (two or three
consecutive days in the mid 20-degrees), then cut. If the windrows are light, rake
two or three together to make a dense, entwined swath that will withstand winds.
Long-term comparisons of swath grazing vs. direct grazing on alfalfa stand life are
not available, but be cautious with newer stands and "experiment" with older stands.

Some excellent details on swath grazing are available in MontGuide 200106 in HTML
or PDF formats at: